1. Technical Field
Embodiments generally relate to motion sensing. More particularly, embodiments relate to the use of virtual sensing beams to determine spatial gait parameters in a passive motion sensing environment.
2. Discussion
Existing techniques for measuring the velocity of a human in a home can be inaccurate, expensive, power inefficient, damaging to the installation structure, and potentially hazardous. For example, active solutions such as infrared beam-based systems can be power inefficient. Other solutions might involve wearable devices, but the devices must be remembered by the individual in question. Additionally, floor sensors may require carpet modification or the addition of a relatively expensive pressure floor mat that could pose a trip hazard.
Solutions that use a passive infrared (PIR) sensor may be more power efficient than active solutions, but can suffer from inherent limitations of PIR sensor accuracy. For example, existing PIR sensor devices might sense motion in a single downward facing wedge shaped three-dimensional space, which, due to its spread over distance, can make velocity measurements uncertain. Furthermore, because PIR sensors may not be as accurate when approached at angles non-orthogonal to the edge of the sensing edge, a walker moving down a hallway could trigger the PIR sensor under an imprecise geometry. Simply put, there remains considerable room for improvement with regard to motion sensing and gait analysis.